When circumstances force a pilot to choose between an overweight landing or jettisoning fuel, a number of factors must be considered. The information in this article is designed to facilitate these decisions. For more information, please contact Boeing Flight Operations Engineering at FlightOps.Engineering@boeing.com.

787TECHNOLOGYHIGHLIGHT

The 787 design incorporates onboard structural health management technologies which will mitigate
the operational impact and costs associated with structural inspections after an overweight or hard landing. This technology will greatly simplify the process of determining whether
or not a landing has exceeded the capabilities of the airplane structure and will significantly reduce the inspection burden on the operator. This capability will reduce the overall downtime and maintenance costs associated with overweight and hard landing events without impacting flight crew workload or operational procedures. More information on this new technology will be covered in a future issue of AERO.